Management apparatus, individual management system, and individual search system

ABSTRACT

To provide a management apparatus capable of capturing a position of a specific individual satisfying a predetermined condition. A management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present technology includes a control unit. The control unit extracts, on the basis of first information that is generated by a sensor device worn by an individual and is related to a living body of the individual, a specific individual satisfying a predetermined condition, and generates, on the basis of position information related to a position of the specific individual, search information for causing a mobile object to move to the position of the specific individual.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/735,460, titled“MANAGEMENT APPARATUS, INDIVIDUAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND INDIVIDUALSEARCH SYSTEM,” filed on Jan. 6, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,729,107,which is a continuation of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 120of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/236,067, titled “MANAGEMENTAPPARATUS, INDIVIDUAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND INDIVIDUAL SEARCH SYSTEM,”filed on Dec. 28, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,609,907, which is acontinuation of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/571,344, titled “MANAGEMENT APPARATUS,INDIVIDUAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND INDIVIDUAL SEARCH SYSTEM,” filed onNov. 2, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,212,922, which claims the benefitunder 35 U.S.C. § 371 as a U.S. National Stage Entry of InternationalApplication No. PCT/JP2016/001925, filed in the Japanese patent Officeas a Receiving Office on Apr. 6, 2016, which claims priority to JapanesePatent Application JP2015-097747, filed in the Japanese Patent Office onMay 12, 2015, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology relates to a management apparatus, an individualmanagement system, and an individual search system applicable tolivestock pasturing management, for example.

BACKGROUND ART

From the past, for livestock breeders to manage activity states/healthconditions of livestock, methods of directly grasping states oflivestock have been performed, the methods including measurements of abody temperature, weight, physical condition, and the like by livestockbreeders, observations by experts such as a veterinarian, and the like.Further, there is also proposed a method of grasping states byattaching, to necks of livestock, a monitoring apparatus equipped with asensor that acquires biological information such as a body temperatureand an acceleration of the livestock.

For example, Patent Literature 1 describes an animal managing systemthat is worn by individual animals to acquire individual-relatedinformation including position information, physiological information,peripheral image information, or peripheral micrometeorologicalinformation of an animal that moves while wearing this and collect theacquired individual-related information at remote locations.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2004-222519

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

For example, for livestock breeders, there are demands to specify apredetermined individual from a plurality of pastured livestock animalsand perform individualized care.

In view of the circumstances as described above, the present technologyaims at providing a management apparatus, an individual managementsystem, and an individual search system with which a position of aspecified individual satisfying a predetermined condition can becaptured with ease.

Solution to Problem

A management apparatus according to an embodiment of the presenttechnology includes a control unit.

The control unit extracts, on the basis of first information that isgenerated by a sensor device worn by an individual and is related to aliving body of the individual, a specific individual satisfying apredetermined condition, and generates, on the basis of positioninformation related to a position of the specific individual, searchinformation for causing a mobile object to move to the position of thespecific individual.

An individual management system according to an embodiment of thepresent technology includes a plurality of sensor devices and amanagement apparatus.

The plurality of sensor devices each include a detection unit thatdetects first information related to a living body of an individual anda first communication unit capable of transmitting the firstinformation, the plurality of sensor devices being respectively worn bya plurality of individuals to be managed.

The management apparatus includes a control unit that extracts, on thebasis of the first information, a specific individual satisfying apredetermined condition, and generates, on the basis of positioninformation related to a position of the specific individual, searchinformation for causing a mobile object to move to the position of thespecific individual.

An individual search system according to an embodiment of the presenttechnology includes a plurality of sensor devices, at least one relayapparatus, a mobile object, and a management apparatus.

The plurality of sensor devices each include a detection unit thatdetects first information related to a living body of an individual anda first communication unit capable of transmitting the firstinformation, the plurality of sensor devices being respectively worn bya plurality of individuals to be managed.

The at least one relay apparatus includes a second communication unitcapable of receiving the first information transmitted from each of theplurality of sensor devices and transmitting individual information ofeach individual including second information related to a communicationstate with the first communication unit and the first information.

The management apparatus includes a control unit that receives theindividual information of each individual transmitted from the relayapparatus, extracts a specific individual satisfying a predeterminedcondition on the basis of the first information, generates positioninformation related to a position of the specific individual on thebasis of the second information, and generates search information formoving the mobile object to the position of the specific individual onthe basis of the position information.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

As described above, according to the present technology, a position of aspecific individual satisfying a predetermined condition can be capturedwith ease.

It should be noted that the effects described herein are not necessarilylimited, and any effect described in the present disclosure may beobtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 A schematic configuration diagram of a system according to anembodiment of the present technology.

FIG. 2 A functional block diagram of the system.

FIG. 3 A flowchart showing a basic algorithm of the system.

FIG. 4 A flowchart for explaining a general outline of a processingprocedure of a search process in the system.

FIG. 5 A flowchart showing an individual position capturing process inthe system and is a diagram for explaining a processing procedure of arelay apparatus.

FIG. 6 A flowchart showing the individual position capturing process inthe system and is a diagram for explaining a processing procedure of amanagement apparatus.

FIG. 7 Diagrams showing an example of a screen shift of the managementapparatus in the system.

FIG. 8 Diagrams showing an example of a screen shift of the managementapparatus in the system.

FIG. 9 Diagrams showing an example of a screen shift of the managementapparatus in the system.

FIG. 10 A flowchart for explaining details of the processing procedureof the search process.

FIG. 11 A schematic diagram for explaining operations of a mobile objectin the search process.

FIG. 12 A schematic diagram for explaining operations of the mobileobject in the search process.

FIG. 13 A schematic diagram for explaining operations of the mobileobject in the search process.

FIG. 14 A schematic diagram for explaining operations of the mobileobject in the search process.

FIG. 15 A schematic diagram for explaining operations of the mobileobject in the search process.

FIG. 16 A schematic diagram for explaining operations of the mobileobject in the search process.

FIG. 17 A schematic configuration diagram of a sensor device in thesystem.

FIG. 18 A block diagram showing an example of the sensor device.

FIG. 19 A block diagram showing details of the sensor device shown inFIG. 18.

FIG. 20 A flowchart for explaining an example of a processing flow inthe sensor device.

FIG. 21 Diagrams showing an example of individual information outputfrom the sensor device.

FIG. 22 A functional block diagram showing a configuration of a sensordevice used in another embodiment of the present technology.

FIG. 23 A schematic diagram for explaining an individual search systemwhen the mobile object is used as the relay apparatus.

FIG. 24 A flowchart showing an individual search procedure in theanother embodiment.

FIG. 25 A schematic diagram for explaining the individual searchprocedure in the another embodiment.

FIG. 26 A schematic diagram for explaining the individual searchprocedure in the another embodiment.

FIG. 27 A schematic diagram for explaining the individual searchprocedure in the another embodiment.

FIG. 28 A schematic diagram for explaining the individual searchprocedure in the another embodiment.

FIG. 29 A schematic diagram for explaining the individual searchprocedure in the another embodiment.

FIG. 30 A schematic diagram for explaining the individual searchprocedure in the another embodiment.

FIG. 31 A schematic diagram for explaining the individual searchprocedure in the another embodiment.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

In this embodiment, descriptions will be given on an example where anindividual management system or individual search system according tothe present technology is applied to a livestock management system thatmanages pastured livestock such as beef cattle, dairy cattle, horses,sheep, and goats.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an individual managementsystem or individual search system according to the embodiment of thepresent technology. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the system.Hereinafter, an entire typical configuration of the system will bedescribed.

[Entire Configuration of System]

A system 1 of this embodiment includes a plurality of sensor devices 10,a relay apparatus 20, a management apparatus 30, and a mobile object 40.

The system 1 includes a function of managing health conditions andactivity states of a plurality of pastured livestock animals A,specifying and capturing a position of a livestock animal A requiringindividual care, and further, searching for the livestock animal A.

It should be noted that although beef cattle are taken as an example ofthe livestock animals A in this embodiment, the livestock animals A maysimply be referred to as “individual” in some cases.

(Sensor Device)

As shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of sensor devices 10 are respectivelyworn by the plurality of livestock animals A to be managed. Each of thesensor devices 10 is worn at a head, neck, body, foot, or the like ofthe livestock animal A, and is worn at an ear in this embodiment. Thenumber of sensor devices 10 to be worn by the livestock animal A mayeither be single or plural.

It should be noted that the sensor device 10 is not limited to a casewhere it is attached to an ear of the livestock animal A and may beattached to parts other than the ear, such as a neck, back, and foot.However, it is more favorable to attach it to an ear than the neck andfoot in view of lowering a possibility of the sensor device 10 comingoff due to the livestock animal A rubbing its body against a fence orthe like or the livestock animals A clashing with one another.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the sensor devices 10 includes a detectionunit 12 that detects information related to a living body of thelivestock animal A (first information) and a communication unit 11(first communication unit) capable of transmitting the information.

Unique identification information (UID: Unique Identification) forspecifying the livestock animal A is given to each of the sensor devices10. The detection unit 12 detects biological information (firstinformation) that directly or indirectly indicates an activity state andhealth condition of the livestock animal A. The communication unit 11transmits detection signals of the detection unit 12 mainly to the relayapparatus 20 together with the UID. The information is transmitted fromeach of the sensor devices 10 to the relay apparatus 20 at certain timeintervals or irregular time intervals.

The sensor devices 10 typically include the same configuration. Each ofthe detection units 12 includes at least one power generation elementcapable of generating electric power in accordance with a peripheralenvironment. The communication unit 11 is configured to include acommunication module and an antenna, for example, and is configured totransmit information related to a power generation amount of the powergeneration element using electric power supplied from the powergeneration element. It should be noted that the sensor devices 10 willbe described later in detail.

(Relay Apparatus)

As shown in FIG. 1, the relay apparatus 20 is set at a structure P whoseposition is fixed, such as a pole, fence, and gate set in a pasture, forexample. The number of relay apparatuses 20 to be set is not limited toone and can be set as appropriate in accordance with the largeness ofthe pasture or the like. In this embodiment, a plurality of relayapparatuses 20 are set in the pasture.

It should be noted that as will be described later, the relay apparatus20 is not limited to that which is set at the structure P and may beconfigured by a part or all of the plurality of livestock animals Amoving within the pasture or the mobile object 40. In other words, therelay apparatus 20 is not limited to a case where it is attached tosomething fixed in the pasture or attached to a non-living thing.

Each of the relay apparatuses 20 includes a communication unit 21(second communication unit) as shown in FIG. 2. The communication unit21 is configured to include a communication circuit and an antenna, forexample, and is configured to be capable of receiving information (firstinformation) transmitted from the communication units 11 of the sensordevices 10 worn by the plurality of livestock animals A in a peripherythereof. A communication method between the sensor devices 10 and therelay apparatus 20 is not limited in particular, but a wirelesscommunication technology that uses electromagnetic waves such as radiowaves, infrared rays, and light or sound waves, is typically adopted.

Each of the relay apparatuses 20 further includes a communication statemeasurement unit 22 that generates information related to acommunication state between the communication unit 21 and thecommunication unit 11 of each of the sensor devices 10 (secondinformation). The communication state measurement unit 22 is configuredby a calculation apparatus such as a computer including a CPU, a memory,and the like.

The communication state measurement unit 22 detects or measures atransmission signal level from each of the sensor devices 10, areception intensity in the relay apparatus 20, and the like as thecommunication state between each of the sensor devices 10 and the relayapparatus 20. The communication unit 21 is configured to transmit, tothe management apparatus 30, individual information of each livestockanimal A including the biological information (first information)transmitted from each of the sensor devices 10 and communication stateinformation (second information) that is generated by the communicationstate measurement unit 22 and is related to the communication state.

The individual information transmitted from the relay apparatus 20 tothe management apparatus 30 is configured as a dataset includingidentification information (UID) of the relay apparatus 20, positioninformation of the relay apparatus 20, the biological information (firstinformation), the communication state information (second information),the identification information (UID) of the sensor devices 10, and thelike. The communication state information (second information) includesthe transmission signal level of the relay apparatus 20, a receptionsignal intensity of information transmitted from each of the sensordevices 10, a reception time, and the like.

A communication method between each of the relay apparatuses 20 and themanagement apparatus 30 is not limited in particular, and a packetcommunication technology that uses a network N is used, for example.Typically, the individual information is transmitted from the relayapparatus 20 to the management apparatus 30 every time information isreceived from each of the sensor devices 10, but the information may betransmitted periodically or irregularly.

In a case where the relay apparatus 20 is mobile, the relay apparatus 20may include means for acquiring position information of itself (e.g.,GPS system), and in this case, the position information is incorporatedinto the dataset.

Typically, each of the relay apparatuses 20 is configured to be suppliedwith electric power from a power supply cable laid within the pasture.It should be noted that without being limited to this, a powergeneration element capable of generating electric power using naturalenergy, such as solar power generation, wind power generation,geothermal power generation, and hydropower generation, may also beincluded. Further, the connection between the relay apparatus 20 and thenetwork N may be wireless communication or wired communication.

(Management Apparatus)

The management apparatus 30 is typically configured by a computerincluding a CPU, a memory for storing programs, and the like. In thisembodiment, the management apparatus 30 is configured by a managementserver 301 as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the management apparatus 30 includes a communicationunit 31 (third communication unit) and a control unit 35. The controlunit 35 includes an individual extraction unit 32, a position capturingunit 33, and a storage unit 34. The control unit 35 is configured toextract a specific individual satisfying a predetermined condition onthe basis of the first information that is generated by the sensordevices 10 worn by the individuals and is related to a living body ofthe individuals, and generate, on the basis of position informationrelated to a position of the specific individual, search information formoving the mobile object 40 to the position of the specific individual(position in real world indicating position of specific individual).

The control unit 35 is configured to generate, with respect to themobile object 40, a guidance instruction for guiding the specificindividual to a predetermined location (e.g., cowshed).

The individual extraction unit 32, the position capturing unit 33, andthe like are configured by a calculation apparatus such as a computerincluding hardware resources such as a CPU and a memory.

The communication unit 31 is configured to include a communicationcircuit and an antenna, for example, and is configured to be capable ofreceiving the individual information of each livestock animal Atransmitted from the respective relay apparatuses 20. The individualextraction unit 32 is configured to extract a specific individualsatisfying a predetermined condition on the basis of the biologicalinformation (first information) included in the received individualinformation (dataset) of each livestock animal A.

Further, the communication unit 31 is configured to be capable oftransmitting the search information and guidance instruction to themobile object 40 and receiving mobile object information includinginformation related to a position of the mobile object 40. The mobileobject information can be acquired from a GPS (Global PositioningSystem) mounted on the mobile object 40, for example.

The predetermined condition is one or a plurality of conditions presetfor specifying an individual to be searched and is typically a referencevalue used for judging whether a living body or activity state (bodytemperature, magnitude of activity amount, etc.) of the livestock animalA is abnormal. The predetermined condition may include a reference valueused for judging whether the livestock animal A has moved to a locationthat is a predetermined distance or more apart from the relay apparatus20. In a case where the detection unit 12 of each of the sensor devices10 detects a plurality of types of biological information or activityinformation, the health condition or activity state of the livestockanimal A is determined by comprehensively determining these pieces ofinformation.

The individual extraction unit 32 evaluates whether the individualinformation of the individual livestock animals A satisfies the one or aplurality of predetermined conditions for specifying a search target.Examples of the search target include an individual that has become illor been injured, an individual in estrus, and the like. The individualextraction unit 32 judges whether there is a specific individualsatisfying the predetermined condition and when there is, extracts orspecifies that individual as the search target (generation of searchevent).

The position capturing unit 33 is configured to generate positioninformation related to the position of the specific individual on thebasis of the communication state information (second information)included in the received individual information of each livestock animalA. In this embodiment, the position information related to the specificindividual is generated at a time the specific individual is extractedby the individual extraction unit (when search event is generated). Itshould be noted that the present technology is not limited to this, andposition information related to all individuals may be generatedirrespective of whether a search event is generated.

As the position information, area information having a highest existenceprobability out of a plurality of areas obtained by virtually dividingthe pasture, for example, is used. Since the position information iscalculated on the basis of the information related to the communicationstate between the relay apparatus 20 and each of the sensor devices 10(second information), it is not an absolute position but is a relativeposition that is calculated on the basis of a relationship ofcommunication intensities with respect to other sensor devices, and thelike. Therefore, the position information only needs to indicate a roughposition within the pasture.

The storage unit 34 is configured by a storage apparatus such as asemiconductor memory and a hard disk drive and stores individualinformation of each livestock animal A transmitted from the relayapparatuses 20, information related to a specific individual extractedby the individual extraction unit 32, position information generated bythe position capturing unit 33, and the like. The communication unit 31is configured to transmit, as the search information, at least a part ofthe various types of information stored in the storage unit 34 toterminal apparatuses 302 and 303 and the mobile object 40 via thenetwork N.

(Terminal Apparatus)

In this embodiment, a plurality of terminal apparatuses 302 and 303 areprovided. The terminal apparatuses 302 and 303 are each configured by aninformation processing apparatus communicable with the management server301 via the network N. The management server 301 is configured toinclude the individual extraction unit 32, the position capturing unit33, and the storage unit 34 and execute monitoring of a state of eachlivestock animal A, position capturing processing, and the like.

The management server 301 is configured to transmit, at a time a searchevent is generated, that effect to the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303and configured to execute a predetermined search process in accordancewith instructions from the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303. When aplurality of individuals satisfying the predetermined condition areextracted, the search event may be generated regarding the plurality ofindividuals. In this case, one or a plurality of individuals to besearched for may be specified by the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303.

On the other hand, the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303 are eachconfigured to be capable of acquiring individual information andposition information of each livestock animal A, and the like from themanagement server 301 via the network N. The terminal apparatuses 302and 303 are typically configured by a general-purpose computer includinga communication function.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303each include a communication unit 51 communicable with the managementserver 301, a display unit 52 that displays the individual informationand position information of each livestock animal A, a history ofbiological information, the mobile object information, and the liketransmitted from the management server 301, an input unit 53 thatgenerates predetermined instruction signals to be transmitted to themanagement server 301, and the like. In this embodiment, the terminalapparatus 302 is configured by a stationary terminal apparatus, and theterminal apparatus 303 is configured by a mobile terminal apparatus suchas a smartphone, but the number and types of terminal apparatuses arenot limited in particular. It is also possible for the terminalapparatuses to be a glasses-type or watch-type wearable device, forexample. The communication unit 51 is configured to include acommunication circuit and an antenna, for example. The input unit 53 isconfigured by an input apparatus such as a mouse, a keyboard, and atouch sensor, for example.

Further, the management apparatus 30 is not limited to the case where itis configured by the management server 301 and may be configured by theterminal apparatus 302 or the terminal apparatus 303 or may beconfigured by combining the management server 301 and the terminalapparatuses 302 and 303.

(Mobile Object)

As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile object 40 includes a communication unit41 (fourth communication unit) and a search unit 42. The mobile object40 is configured to be capable of moving, upon receiving the searchinformation generated on the basis of the position information that isgenerated by the management server 301 and is related to the position ofthe specific individual (livestock animal A), to a current position ofthe specific individual or a peripheral location.

The communication unit 41 is configured to include a communicationcircuit and an antenna, for example. The communication unit 41 isconfigured to be communicable with the management server 301 via thenetwork N and is typically configured to acquire search informationincluding individual information and position information of thelivestock animal A from the management server 301. Moreover, thecommunication unit 41 is further configured to be mutually communicablewith the sensor device 10 (communication unit 11) and the relayapparatus 20 (communication unit 21) by a wireless communicationtechnology that uses electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, infraredrays, and light or sound waves, and the like. In this case, thecommunication unit 41 may be configured by a communication module (to bedescribed later) similar to the sensor device 10. Further, the mobileobject 40 may also be configured to function as a part of the pluralityof relay apparatuses 20.

The search unit 42 may be configured by a calculation apparatus such asa computer that includes a CPU, a memory for storing programs, and thelike, may include a measurement system such as a GPS (Global PositioningSystem), and controls drive of the mobile object 40 so that it reaches atarget area within the pasture. Of course, it is also possible toacquire a relative position from the mobile object to the sensor devicefrom a captured relative position of the sensor device even withoutincluding the GPS and control the movement to the target area. On thebasis of the search information related to the livestock animal A, thathas been received from the management server 301 via the communicationunit 41, the search unit 42 searches for the specific individual fromthe plurality of livestock animals A within the pasture. Further, thesearch unit 42 includes a search mode (high-accuracy mode) for searchingfor the specific individual by receiving information from the relayapparatus 20 (communication unit 21) or each of the sensor devices 10(communication units 11).

Although a flying object configured to be capable of flying autonomouslyis used as the mobile object 40 in this embodiment, the presenttechnology is not limited thereto, and a traveling object configured tobe capable of travelling autonomously on land, a mobile object capableof traveling autonomously in or above water, and the like may also beused. The mobile object 40 includes a drive unit 43 as shown in FIG. 2.In addition to the drive source such as an engine and a motor, the driveunit 43 includes a propeller for flying in the case of a flying object,wheels in the case of a traveling object, a screw and the like in thecase of a mobile object that moves in or above water.

By configuring the mobile object 40 such that it can track the specificlivestock animal, it becomes possible to display not only a position ofa still individual but also a position of a moving individual. In otherwords, the mobile object 40 also includes a function as a display body(instruction body) that displays (instructs) a position of a searchedlivestock animal (specific individual) in a form recognizable bypasture-related officials (users) including a manager, a pasture owner,and the like. For example, in a state where the mobile object 40 ishovering (staying still in air) right above the searched livestockanimal, the position of the mobile object 40 is indirectly displayed tothe outside as a position of the livestock animal as the search target.In this case, the mobile object 40 may include, as a display apparatus,a light-emitting device capable of externally emitting light, such as anLED (Light Emitting Diode), a sound-emitting device capable of emittinga warning tone, such as a buzzer, and the like.

Alternatively, the mobile object 40 may include, as the displayapparatus, a display member that can be hung down from right above thesearched livestock animal toward the livestock animal, such as ropes anda net. In this case, the livestock animal is directly displayed by thedisplay member.

The number of mobile objects 40 is not limited to one, and a pluralityof mobile objects 40 may be provided. In the case of using the pluralityof mobile objects 40, each of the mobile objects 40 may search for alivestock animal after dividing a search area. Accordingly, it becomespossible to search for a specific individual in a short time even if thepasture is extensive.

The mobile object 40 may include a camera 44 (image pickup apparatus) sothat, accordingly, it becomes possible to photograph the surroundingsand a livestock animal positioned right below a flying area. Moreover, aflight attitude, height, proximity distance with respect to a livestockanimal, and the like of the mobile object 40 may be controlled on thebasis of the image taken by the camera 44.

The mobile object 40 is configured to be capable of transmitting anoutput image of the camera 44 to the management apparatus 30 via thecommunication unit 41. Typically, the output image of the camera 44 istransmitted as the mobile object information together with the positioninformation of the mobile object 40 (GPS data). The camera 44 may be aninfrared camera so that, accordingly, it becomes possible to acquire,from a photographed thermography image of a livestock animal, specificcondition data of the livestock animal that is different from dataobtained from the sensor device 10 alone.

The mobile object 40 may further include a guidance tool for guiding thelivestock animals. In this case, a specific livestock animal as a searchtarget can be guided to a predetermined location such as a cowshed onthe basis of a guidance instruction transmitted from the managementapparatus 30.

A feed for livestock animals is typically used as the guidance tool. Byusing a concentrated feed that livestock animals favor in particular, alivestock animal guidance effect can be enhanced. The concentrated feedis a feed including many proteins, and an example thereof is a feedincluding seed parts of grains such as a corn, barley, wheat, and rice,beans such as a soybean, an oil cake obtained by squeezing oil, and thelike. It should be noted that the guidance tool may be an artificialbait.

The mobile object 40 is configured to guide the livestock animal to acowshed by hanging the guidance tool in front of the livestock animal,scattering it along the way back to the cowshed, and the like on thebasis of the guidance instruction.

A battery is typically used as a power source of the mobile object 40,but a power generation element capable of generating electric powerusing natural energy, such as solar power generation and wind powergeneration, may be included instead.

[System Operation]

Next, typical operations of the system 1 of this embodiment will bedescribed.

(General Outline of Operations)

In the system 1 of this embodiment, each of the relay apparatuses 20receives biological information of the respective livestock animals Afrom the sensor devices 10 respectively worn by the livestock animals A(individuals), processes it into individual information, and transmitsit to the management apparatus 30 (management server 301). The datasetconfiguring each individual information includes first informationrelated to a living body of the livestock animal A transmitted from thesensor device 10 and second information related to a communication statewith respect to the sensor device (first communication unit) at a timethe information is received as described above.

The management apparatus 30 (management server 301) judges an activitystate or health condition of individual livestock animals A on the basisof the first information in the respective pieces of individualinformation and judges whether the predetermined condition is satisfied.Further, the management apparatus 30 (management apparatus 301)typically judges, for each of the individual sensor devices 10, adistance between the sensor device 10 and the relay apparatus 20 on thebasis of the second information in each individual information andgenerates position information related to a position of the livestockanimal A satisfying the predetermined condition or positions of all thelivestock animals A. Accordingly, a specific livestock animal Asatisfying the predetermined condition is extracted, and a position ofthe specific individual is captured.

The management apparatus 30 (management server 301) executes theprocessing every time the individual information of the respectivelivestock animals A is received from the respective relay apparatuses20. Accordingly, an individual management system capable of monitoring atime change (history) of the health condition or activity state of eachindividual is structured. Moreover, by collecting a time change of theposition information of each livestock animal A in the storage unit 34,it becomes possible to also monitor the position and migration path ofeach individual as will be described later.

Then, the management apparatus 30 (management server 301, individualextraction unit 32) extracts a specific livestock animal A satisfyingthe predetermined condition, transmits, in a case where an urgentindividual care is required for that livestock animal A, individualinformation and position information related to that individual to themobile object 40, and causes the mobile object 40 to start searching forthat livestock animal A. In other words, the system 1 of this embodimentfunctions as an individual search system that executes, in a case wherea specific livestock animal A indicating a predetermined symptom orstate, such as a disease and heat, is extracted, search processing ofthe specific livestock animal using a search event that has beengenerated for searching for the specific livestock animal as a trigger.The number of livestock animals A to be extracted as the search targetis not limited to one, and a plurality of livestock animals may beextracted at the same time.

Next, details from the generation of a search event to an end of thesearch process will be described.

(Basic Algorithm)

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a basic algorithm of the system 1.

The individual extraction unit 32 of the management apparatus 30 judgesa health condition and activity state on the basis of individualinformation of each livestock animal A (ST11). As the individualextraction unit 32 extracts an individual satisfying a predeterminedcondition that is to become a reference for judging an abnormality suchas a disease and heat, for example, from the individual information ofeach livestock animal A received by the management server 301, a searchevent is generated to shift to a search process for searching for theindividual (ST12, 13).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the system 1 for explaining a general outlineof a processing procedure of the search process. In this embodiment,steps of search target specification (ST21), search informationacquisition (ST22), search (ST23), track (ST24), and search end (ST25)are included.

(Generation of Search Event)

As a search event is generated, a search target is specified (ST21). Alivestock animal extracted as the search target is typically specifiedon the basis of a UID (identification information) of the sensor device10 worn by that livestock animal.

Subsequently, information related to the search target (searchinformation) is acquired (ST22). As the search information, there are atransition of biological information up to present, a past medicalhistory, an inveterate disease, and the like that are related to thelivestock animal A, in addition to biological information related to aliving body or activity amount of the livestock animal A as the searchtarget and position information related to a current position. As theposition information, information that is calculated and generated bythe position capturing unit 33 of the management server 301 and storedin the storage unit 34 is referenced.

(Position Capturing Process)

FIGS. 5 and 6 are each a flowchart showing a position capturing processof the livestock animal A. FIG. 5 shows operations of the relayapparatus 20, and FIG. 6 shows operations of the management apparatus 30(management server 301).

Each of the relay apparatuses 20 transmits individual information ofeach livestock animal A to the management server 301. As shown in FIG.5, each of the relay apparatuses 20 receives data from the sensordevices 10 worn by the respective livestock animals A in a ready state(ST31, 32). The data transmitted from each of the sensor devices 10includes biological information (first information) including a healthcondition and activity state of the livestock animal A.

Each of the relay apparatuses 20 is configured to be capable ofreceiving data from one or a plurality of livestock animals A (sensordevices 10) within a communicable range. It is favorable for theplurality of relay apparatuses 20 to receive transmission data from thesame livestock animal A.

Upon receiving the transmission data from the livestock animals A, eachof the relay apparatuses 20 records, for each livestock animal A,information related to a communication state, that includes atransmission level, a reception intensity, a reception time, a receptionhour, and the like (second information). These pieces ofcommunication-related information are generated by the communicationstate measurement unit 22 (ST33). The processing described above isrepetitively executed until a data transmission event with respect tothe management server 301 is generated (ST34). Upon generation of a datatransmission event, each of the relay apparatuses 20 transmitsindividual information including the first information and secondinformation of the respective livestock animals A to the managementserver 301 (ST35).

The transmission level is a data transmission level of each of thesensor devices 10 and is typically included in the data transmitted fromthe sensor devices 10. The transmission level may be a fixed value, ormay be a variable value that differs for each transmission as in a casewhere, for example, the transmission level is intensified or weakenedintentionally at the time of transmission. Meanwhile, the receptionintensity is a reception intensity of data transmitted from each of thesensor devices 10. Although the reception intensity is influenced by acommunication environment, the reception intensity of signals to bereceived by the relay apparatus 20 is typically apt to become higher asthe distance between the sensor device 10 that transmits data and therelay apparatus 20 that receives the data becomes smaller.

Therefore, on the basis of the information related to the communicationstate between the respective sensor devices 10 and the relay apparatuses20 (transmission signal level of each sensor device 10 or receptionintensity of each sensor device 10), it becomes possible to estimate thedistances between the individual relay apparatuses 20 and the respectivelivestock animals A. For example, it becomes possible to estimate thedistances between the individual relay apparatuses 20 and the respectivelivestock animals A by lowering the transmission signal levels of therespective sensor devices 10 from a high level and detecting whether thereception intensity can maintain a certain value or more.

The data transmission event is configured to be generated at a timepoint a built-in timer of each of the relay apparatuses 20 reaches apredetermined number of counts (predetermined cycle), for example. Thedata transmission event may be generated at a timing that differs foreach of the relay apparatuses 20 or may be generated at the same timing.Alternatively, the data transmission event may be generated at a timepoint communication between the respective relay apparatuses 20 and themanagement apparatus 30 is established.

Meanwhile, the management server 301 receives the individual informationof each livestock animal A from the respective relay apparatuses 20. Asshown in FIG. 6, the management apparatus 30 judges whether there isreception data from the respective relay apparatuses 20 in a ready state(ST41, 42). Whether there is reception data is judged on the basis ofreception information stored in the storage unit 34 (FIG. 2), forexample.

Upon receiving the transmission data from the respective relayapparatuses 20, the management server 301 (position capturing unit 33)specifies a relay apparatus 20 closest to the specific livestock animalA out of the plurality of relay apparatuses 20 that have received datarelated to the position capturing target (specific livestock animal A assearch target) at the same time or hour (ST43). Here, out of theplurality of relay apparatuses 20, a relay apparatus 20 that has alowest transmission signal level of the sensor device 10 and has beenable to receive that signal is extracted. If the reception intensity ismaintained during the reception even when the transmission signal levelis low, a distance between the position capturing target and the relayapparatus 20 is small as described above, so by the processing above,the relay apparatus 20 closest to the specific livestock animal A isspecified.

Subsequently, the management server 301 (position capturing unit 33)estimates, on the basis of the reception data from the relay apparatus20 closest to the specific livestock animal A, a position of thatlivestock animal A at a reception time thereof and generates positioninformation related to that position (ST44). The generated positioninformation is stored in the storage unit 34.

The reception time typically refers to a standard local time (absolutetime) but is not limited thereto, and may be a time that has elapsedsince system activation or generation of a search event (relative time),for example.

Next, the management server 301 (position capturing unit 33) referencesthe position information related to the specific livestock animal, thathas been generated last time, and additionally generates trajectoryinformation related to a positional change of the livestock animal A(ST45). The generated trajectory information is stored in the storageunit 34.

The processing described above is repetitively executed until a searchprocess end event is generated (ST46, 47).

It should be noted that the position capturing of a specific livestockanimal A is not limited to the example where it is carried out on thebasis of information transmitted from the relay apparatus 20. Forexample, as will be described later, it is also possible to directlyreceive position information of a specific livestock animal from aplurality of other livestock animals and capture the position of thespecific livestock animal.

(Image Shift of Terminal Apparatus)

Search information acquired in the search information acquisition step(ST22) of FIG. 4 is transmitted to each of the terminal apparatuses 302and 303 from the management server 301. In this embodiment, the searchprocess of a livestock animal that uses the mobile object 40 is startedupon receiving a predetermined input instruction from the terminalapparatuses 302 and 303.

For example, FIGS. 7A and B show an example of a screen shift of theterminal apparatus 302.

Upon generation of a search event, a UI (User Interface) image 511including information of a specific livestock animal A as a searchtarget is displayed on a display (display unit 52) of the terminalapparatus 302 (FIG. 7A). In this example, the UI image 511 includesidentification information (UID), position information, past history,and the like of the livestock animal A (sensor device) that has beenjudged as abnormal. The position information may be displayed incharacters, or the position of the livestock animal A (estimated area)may be displayed on a map image displayed on the display. As apredetermined input operation (e.g., click operation) is made on the UIimage 511, a UI image 512 that receives an input on whether to start asearch is displayed (FIG. 7B).

Meanwhile, FIGS. 8A and B and FIGS. 9A and B each show an example of ascreen shift of the terminal apparatus 303.

Upon generation of a search event, a UI image 521 includingidentification information (UID) of a specific livestock animal as asearch target is displayed on a display (display unit 52) of theterminal apparatus 303 (FIG. 8A). As a predetermined input operation(e.g., tap operation) is made on the UI image 521, a UI image 522including simple data of the livestock animal A (e.g., positioninformation, past history, etc.) judged as abnormal is displayed (FIG.8B). The position information may be displayed in characters, or theposition of the livestock animal A (estimated area) may be displayed ona map image displayed on the display. Next, as a predetermined inputoperation (e.g., tap operation) is made on the UI image 522, a UI image523 indicating a type, date of birth, biological change of past week,notes, and the like of the livestock animal A is displayed (FIG. 9A),and a UI image 524 that receives an input on whether to start a searchis displayed after a predetermined operation is made (FIG. 9B).

The management server 301 that has received a search start instructionfrom the terminal apparatus 302 or the terminal apparatus 303 starts asearch process of the livestock animal A using the mobile object 40(ST23). Specifically, on the basis of the position information of thelivestock animal A generated by the management server 301 or the searchinformation including the position information of the livestock animal Ato be transmitted after that, the mobile object 40 flies above thepasture and searches for the livestock animal A (ST23). When found, themobile object 40 stops above the livestock animal A and tracks thelivestock animal A when it moves to thus display the position of thelivestock animal A to a manager (ST24). After the manager specifies thelivestock animal A, the search process is ended, and the mobile object40 returns to a standby position (ST25).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the system 1 for explaining details of theprocessing procedure of the search process. In FIG. 10, ST23 a to 23 ecorrespond to the search step (ST23) of FIG. 4, and ST24 a to 24 dcorrespond to the tracking step (ST24) of FIG. 4. Further, in FIG. 10,ST25 a to 25 g correspond to the search end step (ST25) of FIG. 4.

FIGS. 11 to 16 are each a schematic diagram for explaining the searchprocess of a livestock animal A by the mobile object 40. In FIGS. 11 to16, a pasture F is drawn substantially rectangularly, and a total of 5relay apparatuses 20 (20A to 20E) are respectively installed at 4corners and center position thereof. In addition, in the pasture F, 10livestock animals A (A1 to A10) are pastured, and of those, a livestockanimal A6 indicated by a black inverted triangle indicates a specificlivestock animal as a search target.

Hereinafter, details of the search process will be described withreference to FIGS. 10 to 16.

(Search Process)

After the search target specification step (ST21) and search informationacquisition step (ST22) are ended, a step of grasping a search area isexecuted (ST23 a).

As shown in FIG. 11, a search area R is typically set within the entirearea of the pasture F where the livestock animals A are pastured.

Alternatively, the search area R may be set within a range obtained bycalculating a time required for the mobile object 40 to reach a searchtarget from a movement velocity of the mobile object 40 and a roughposition of the search target, the range being a range where the searchtarget is highly likely to move before the mobile object 40 reaches thevicinity of the search target. Moreover, the search area R may bedetermined by the number of search targets. Alternatively, the searcharea R may be statically or dynamically assigned in advance to be usedin the search process. Furthermore, the search area R may be a settinglocation of the relay apparatus 20C closest to the livestock animal A6as the search target. In this case, the mobile object 40 may directlyreceive data from the relay apparatus 20C and acquire positioninformation of the search target.

Since an unmanned flying object is used as the mobile object 40 in thisembodiment, the search area R is set within an arbitrary height rangeabove the pasture F. Further, in a case of using a plurality of mobileobjects 40A and 40B as shown in FIGS. 11 to 16, search areas that differfrom each other may be respectively allocated to the mobile objects 40Aand 40B. Moreover, one of the mobile objects may be used as a backup ata time a failure or the like occurs in the other mobile object.Furthermore, for example, it may be used for the purpose of estimating adistance between the search target and the mobile object 40 moreaccurately as in specifying a search target direction by, for example, athree point survey using only the mobile object 40 and the searchtarget, and the like.

Subsequently, the management server 301 outputs a movement instructionto the mobile object 40 (40A, 40B) via the network N and causes themobile object 40 (40A, 40B) to move to the search area R from apredetermined initial position (standby position) as shown in FIG. 12(ST23 b).

The predetermined initial position (standby position) is not limited inparticular and can be set as appropriate in accordance with the type ofmobile object, and it may be a standby location in air, on ground, abovewater, or in water, a dedicated standby location, and the like.

The mobile object 40 (40A, 40B) receives the position information of thelivestock animal A6 as the search target that has been transmitted fromthe management server 301 via the communication unit 41 and moves to anestimated existence position of the livestock animal A6 under control ofthe search unit 42 based on that position information as shown in FIG.13. As the flight route at this time, the movement may be directly madeto the estimated existence position of the livestock animal A6, or ifposition information of the position where the relay apparatus 20Cexists is known, the movement may be made to the estimated existenceposition of the livestock animal A6 after flying to the position of therelay apparatus 20C.

Upon detecting an approach to a destination (position where searchtarget is estimated to be at) by a built-in positioning system, thesearch unit 42 shifts to a high accuracy mode that enables communicationto be made with the livestock animal A (sensor device 10) (ST23 c, 23d). Hereinafter, a case where the mobile object 40A as one of the twomobile objects 40A and 40B approaches a search target (livestock animalA6) will be described.

It should be noted that the other mobile object 40B may be caused tostay still as it is at a predetermined position of the search area R asshown in FIG. 13 or may be caused to return to the initial position(standby position). In the former case, the mobile object 40B may searchfor an individual as a search target in place of the mobile object 40Awhen that individual moves to an area that the mobile object 40B is incharge of.

The mobile object 40A flies while lowering the altitude to a distancethat enables communication to be performed with peripheral livestockanimals A in the vicinity of the destination. In a case where there areseveral livestock animals A at the destination, the search unit 42acquires identification information of the individual livestock animalsA and judges whether each of them is the livestock animal A6 as thesearch target. Then, upon finding the individual A6 as the searchtarget, a shift is made to a tracking mode (ST23 e, 24 a).

(Tracking Process)

After shifting to the tracking mode, the mobile object 40A rises to apredetermined altitude for enabling the mobile object 40A to be visuallyrecognized from farmers on the ground while being positioned right abovethe livestock animal A6 as shown in FIG. 14 (ST24 b). The predeterminedaltitude is not limited in particular and can be set as appropriate inaccordance with the size of the pasture F, whether there is unevennessor a height thereof, and the like.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 15, so as to enable the livestock animalA6 positioned right below to be easily identified from peripherallivestock animals by a pasture-related official M, the mobile object 40Amay hang down an appropriate display member 401 such as ropes and a netas a mark toward the livestock animal (ST24 b).

Alternatively, the mobile object 40A may notify the pasture-relatedofficial of the location of the livestock animal A6 using its altitude.In other words, there is a fear that when the altitude of the mobileobject 40A is too high, it becomes difficult to see the mobile object40A itself from the ground and the visibility of the pasture-relatedofficial will be lowered. In this regard, by the mobile object 40Ahanging down the display member 401 as the display apparatus toward thelivestock animal A6 on the ground as described above in a case of flyingat a relatively-high position such as an altitude of 30 m (meters), forexample, the visibility of the pasture-related official can be enhanced.

On the other hand, in a case of flying at a relatively-low position suchas an altitude of 5 m (meters), for example, the mobile object 40Aactivates a light-emitting device or sound-emitting device as thedisplay apparatus. By using display means that does not inhibit theflight of the mobile object 40A in this way, a search target can besafely notified to the pasture-related official.

When the livestock animal A6 as the search target is found, the mobileobject 40A may transmit a flying position (output of GPS sensor) of themobile object 40A to the management server 301 as mobile objectinformation, in place of or in addition to the display of the positionof the livestock animal A6 using the display apparatus described above.The mobile object information may be directly transmitted to themanagement server 301 or may be transmitted to the management server 301via the relay apparatus 20. The mobile object information is transmittedto the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303 via the management server 301and displayed on the display unit 52 of the terminal apparatuses 302 and303 as map information including the flying position of the mobileobject 40A.

The flying position typically corresponds to a position right above thelivestock animal A6, so it indicates the position of the livestockanimal A6 more accurately. For example, in a case where initialinformation that notifies the position of the livestock animal A6 isrelatively rough as in the case of the position of the relay apparatus20C or the like, the livestock animal A6 can be found with ease by thepasture-related official by notifying the position of the mobile object40A.

Further, the mobile object 40A may photograph the found livestock animalA6 with the camera 44 and transmit an output image thereof to themanagement server 301 as mobile object information together with theposition of the mobile object 40A. The output image of the camera 44 istransmitted to the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303 via the managementserver 301. Accordingly, it becomes possible for the pasture-relatedofficial to check the image of the livestock animal A6 displayed on thedisplay unit 52 of the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303, and thus thestate of the livestock animal A6 can be grasped in a case where itcannot be captured immediately, and the like. Moreover, in a case wherethe camera 44 is an infrared camera, it becomes possible to acquire,from a photographed thermography image of a livestock animal, specificcondition data of the livestock animal that is different from dataobtained from the sensor device 10 alone.

Meanwhile, in some cases, the livestock animal A6 moves within thepasture so that the position fluctuates from the original destination.In this case, the mobile object 40A is controlled so as to track thelivestock animal A6 while flying above it as shown in FIG. 16 (ST24 c).The mobile object 40A is continuously controlled to track the livestockanimal A6 until the livestock animal A6 is captured by thepasture-related official M.

It should be noted that in a case where the abnormality detection of thelivestock animal A6 notifies that the livestock animal A6 has moved to alocation too far from the relay apparatus 20C, the mobile object 40A maybe caused to function as the relay apparatus 20. Accordingly, even whenthe livestock animal A6 moves out of the range of the relay apparatus20C, and the like, the condition detection of the livestock animal A6can be performed via the mobile object 40A.

Also in this case, by transmitting not only the output of the sensordevice 10 worn by the livestock animal A6 (first information) but alsothe position information of the mobile object 40A or the output image ofthe camera 44 to the management server 301 as the mobile objectinformation, the position and condition of the livestock animal A6 canbe acquired more accurately.

(End of Search Process)

Upon capturing the livestock animal A6, the management apparatus 30generates a search end event (ST24 d). The search end event is generatedby a predetermined input operation to the terminal apparatus 303 carriedby the pasture-related official M, for example, and a search endinstruction is transmitted to the mobile object 40 (40A, 40B).Accordingly, the search of a livestock animal by the mobile object 40(40A, 40B) is ended, and the mobile object (40A, 40B) returns to theinitial position (ST25 a, 25 b). The mobile object 40 (40A, 40B) shiftsto a ready state after that and shifts to a sleep mode after an elapseof a certain time without generation of a next search event (ST25 c to25 f). After that, when a search event is generated again (ST25 g), themobile object 40 is restored to the ready state and resumes the searchprocess described above.

(Guidance Process)

In place of or subsequent to the capturing of the livestock animal A6 bythe pasture-related official, a guidance process of guiding thelivestock animal A6 to a predetermined location such as a cowshed by themobile object 40A may be executed.

The guidance process is executed by the management server 301 generatinga guidance instruction for guiding the livestock animal A6 to a cowshedand transmitting that guidance instruction to the mobile object 40A. Thegeneration of a guidance instruction is typically started with an inputfrom the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303 of the pasture-relatedofficials to the management server 301 being a trigger.

The mobile object 40A executes a predetermined operation of guiding thesearched livestock animal A6 to the cowshed on the basis of the guidanceinstruction. As the predetermined operation, for example, there is amethod of attracting attention of the livestock animal A6 by scattering,from the mobile object 40A, a guidance tool such as a concentrated feedthat the livestock animal A6 eats favorably along the way home to thecowshed or hanging the guidance tool before the nose of the livestockanimal A6. In the latter case, the guidance tool may be attached at atip end of the display apparatus described above, or the like.

The predetermined operation includes, in addition to that describedabove, an operation in which the mobile object 40A itself guides thelivestock animal A6 to the cowshed. For example, it is also possible toforcibly guide the livestock animal A6 by causing the mobile object 40Ato operate as a sheepdog as in a case where the mobile object 40Aapproaches the livestock animal A6 and emits sound or light that thelivestock animal A6 dislikes or applies an electrical shock to thelivestock animal A6. In this case, a generator of the sound, light,electricity, or the like corresponds to the guidance tool.

It should be noted that the guidance process is also applicable to acase of searching for or guiding, when accommodating a herd of pasturedlivestock animals in a cowshed or the like, a livestock animal that hasbeen separated from the herd, for example.

As described above, according to this embodiment, an individualsatisfying a specific condition can be specified and captured with ease.

Specifically, from the past, for specifying an individual satisfying aspecific condition, many processes have been necessary since whetherthere is an individual satisfying a specific condition needs to begrasped and specified by visual contact. In addition, in a case where itis unable to be specified, for example, problems that a livestock animalgives birth, a livestock animal not intended to go on a breeding programstarts a breeding behavior, becomes critical, and the like arise.

With respect to the problems as described above, according to thisembodiment, an individual satisfying a specific condition can beefficiently and positively captured, so it becomes possible to performappropriate individual care on that individual.

Further, according to this embodiment, since the individual informationof each livestock animal A transmitted from the respective relayapparatuses 20 to the management apparatus 30 includes informationrelated to the communication state with respect to the respective relayapparatuses 20, a distance between an arbitrary relay apparatus 20 and aspecific livestock animal A can be grasped on the basis of thatinformation, and thus it becomes possible to estimate the positioninformation of that livestock animal A.

Therefore, since it becomes possible to capture the position of anindividual even when the individual sensor devices 10 do not include aGPS system, the sensor devices 10 can be produced at low costs, andpower requisite for driving the GPS system becomes unnecessary, with theresult that it becomes possible to miniaturize the sensor devices 10.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the mobile object 40searches for and tracks the specific livestock animal A, the livestockanimal A can be searched for without requiring manpower. Moreover, sincea flying object is used as the mobile object 40, the livestock animal asthe search target can be easily identified from the position of themobile object 40 flying above. Accordingly, the livestock animal can bespecified with ease even in a case where the pasture is extensive orbumpy, there are many obstructions such as buildings and trees, and thelike. Furthermore, since a livestock animal can be specified with ease,that livestock animal A can be captured and accommodated in a shorttime, and thus it becomes possible to perform a speedy care on thatlivestock animal.

[Sensor Device]

Subsequently, the sensor device 10 will be described in detail.

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram of the sensor device 10.The sensor device 10 includes a power generation unit 111 (correspondingto detection unit 12 in FIG. 2), a power storage element 112, and anoutput unit 113 (corresponding to communication unit 11 in FIG. 2).

The power generation unit 111 generates electric power in a manner thatdepends on a surrounding environment. The power generation unit 111 maybe one that performs power generation with energy based on at least anyone of, for example, light, heat, vibration, radio waves (farelectromagnetic field and near electromagnetic field), and particularorganic and inorganic matters. Any power generation methods can beemployed and, for example, an electrostatic type, electromagnetic type,an inverse magnetostrictive type, or a piezoelectric type can beemployed.

The power generation unit 111 may perform power generation with light(e.g., indoor light bulb and solar light).

The power generation unit 111 may be a thermoelectric conversion elementthat performs power generation by utilizing a temperature difference(heat) (e.g., one that performs power generation by using Seebeck effectand Thomson effect, thermionic power generation element, or one thatperforms thermomagnetic generation).

The power generation unit 111 may be an enzyme battery (also calledbio-battery or the like) that performs power generation by utilizingglucose.

The power generation unit 111 utilizes any of LCR (inductance,capacitance, and reactance) components or a combination thereof andcapacitive coupling or electromagnetic coupling with a capacitor, anantenna, a rectenna, and the like. The power generation unit 111 mayperform power generation with radio waves, for example.

The power generation unit 111 may perform electromagnetic field powergeneration, in other words, perform power generation with energy of anelectromagnetic field such as electromagnetic waves obtained by bringinga sensor apparatus into the proximity of a predetermined device. Awell-known method such as a magnetic field resonance method, anelectromagnetic induction method, electric field coupling, an electricfield resonance method, and a method that collects and uses radio wavesof wireless LAN and the like can be applied to a method for nearelectromagnetic field power generation.

A well-known power generation element other than those exemplified abovecan be applied to the power generation unit 111.

The power storage element 112 is used in a manner that depends onpurposes, for example, storing electric power generated by the powergeneration unit 111.

Besides various secondary batteries such as a lithium-ion secondarybattery, the power storage element 112 includes an electric double layercapacitor, a lithium ion capacitor, a polyacenic semiconductor (PAS)capacitor, a Nanogate capacitor (“Nanogate” is a registered trademark ofNanogate Aktiengesellschaft), a ceramic capacitor, a film capacitor, analuminum electrolytic capacitor, a tantalum capacitor, and the like.Depending on purposes, a combination of these power storage elements maybe used.

The output unit 113 outputs power generation information of the powergeneration unit 111.

In this embodiment, the output unit 113 is configured to be switchablebetween a stand-by state and an output state in which output of thepower generation information is possible in a manner that depends onelectric power supplied from the power generation unit 111. With this,if a power generation amount of the power generation unit 111 becomesequal to or larger than a predetermined amount, it becomes possible totransmit predetermined information as power generation informationindicating the fact of power generation of a power generation amountequal to or larger than the predetermined amount.

The output unit 113 includes, for example, an integrated circuit (IC)formed of one or more elements, a processor that controls outputs, and acommunication module and antenna for communicating with the relayapparatus 20 and the mobile object 40.

Examples of the integrated circuit used in the output unit 113 caninclude a switching element such as a transistor, a diode, a reset IC, aregulator IC, a logic IC, and various arithmetic circuits. A circuitconfiguration inside the IC can be changed in a manner that depends onneeds as long as it can realize the function of the output unit 13.Further, although the output unit 113 is favorably configured to becapable of retaining and storing a state after switching, the outputunit 113 may be configured to be incapable of retaining and storing thatstate due to reset or the like.

Note that a description will be hereinafter made assuming that the resetIC is used as the integrated circuit of the output unit 113.

Further, electric power generated by the power generation unit 111 maybe appropriately supplied to the output unit 113 after the voltage isincreased or lowered.

The processor used in the output unit 113 controls the communicationmodule. Examples of that processor can include an MPU (Micro ProcessingUnit) and a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The MPU is more favorable asthe processor because of the throughput of the output unit 113 and arequirement for downsizing in the sensor device 1.

The communication performed by the communication module of the outputunit 113 may be wireless or may be wired. Further, a wireless module maybe single, may be of various types, or may be a composite moduleincluding the various types. The wireless communication may becommunication utilizing electromagnetic waves (including infrared rays)or may be communication utilizing an electric field. Examples of aspecific method therefor can include a communication method utilizing aband of several hundreds MHz (megahertz) to several GHz (gigahertz) suchas “Wi-Fi (registered trademark)”, “ZigBee (registered trademark)”,“Bluetooth (registered trademark)”, “Bluetooth Low Energy”, “ANT(registered trademark)”, “ANT+(registered trademark)”, and “EnOcean(registered trademark)”. Proximity wireless communication such as NFC(Near Field Communication) may also be employed.

In addition, the output unit 113 in the output state may transmit anidentifier (ID) allocated to the power generation unit 111 as the powergeneration information. With this, the relay apparatus 20 and themanagement apparatus 30 are capable of determining from which powergeneration unit 111 the acquired power generation information comes.

The identifier may be allocated to each power generation unit 111 of thesensor device 10 or may be allocated to each module to be describedlater.

Note that the identifier may be an identifier allocated in advance ormay be an identifier allocated as necessary. For example, when thesensor device 10 establishes communication connection with anotherdevice, an identifier may be allocated to each module and the allocatedidentifier may be used.

As shown in the FIG. 17, the sensor device 10 further includes a casing14 that accommodates the power generation unit 111 and the output unit113. The power storage element 112 may be also accommodated in thecasing 14. All the modules to be described later can be accommodated inthe casing 14. Note that the power generation unit 111, the powerstorage element 112, and the output unit 113 shown in the figureschematically show the fact that these elements are accommodated in thesensor device 10.

The casing 14 includes, for example, a hole for attachment 141. As shownin FIG. 1, the casing 14 is configured to be attachable to the livestockanimal A via this hole 141. The casing 14 may be attached to thevicinity of an earmark for individual identification, for example.

The casing 14 may be, for example, formed of a resin material and thelike such as an ABS resin, a polycarbonate resin, a polylactic acid, anda polyamide resin. At least a part thereof is formed of a lighttransmissive material capable of transmitting solar light therethrough.

Further, considering the ecology and the safety for living bodies andfor preventing accidental ingestions, a material including aplant-derived material, an antiallergic material, an antibacterialmaterial, or the like can be appropriately selected as the material ofthe casing 14.

In this embodiment, the sensor device 10 does not include structuresincluding a lid or the like for replacement of a battery and a connectoror the like for connecting to an external apparatus. Thus, the casing 14can have a gas-tight structure such that the casing 14 can preventexternal gas and liquid from entering it.

Specifically, the entire casing 14 can be integrally molded.Alternatively, if the casing 14 is configured by combining a pluralityof parts, seal rings or the like can be provided at seams of the partssuch that the respective parts of the casing 14 are held in closecontact with each other.

Due to the casing 14 having such a gas-tight structure, the sensordevice 10 can have a configuration excellent in water resistance, dustresistance, shock resistance, and corrosion resistance. With this, it ispossible to provide the sensor device 10 excellent in durability also ina livestock breeding environment severe for the sensor apparatus, whereit is liable to be affected by excrement and urine, weather, feed, dust,collision between livestock animals, and the like.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an example of the sensor device 10according to this embodiment. The sensor device 10 includes one or moremodules, for example.

As shown in the figure, the sensor device 10 includes, for example, fourmodules (module 10 a, module 10 b, module 10 c, and module 10 d). Eachof the modules includes, for example, the power generation unit 111, thepower storage element 112, and the output unit 113 which have beendescribed above.

As shown in FIG. 18, the module 10 a includes a solar power generationunit 111 a that performs power generation with radiated solar light asan example of the power generation unit. In addition, the module 10 aincludes a power storage element 112 a to be connected to the solarpower generation unit 111 a and an output unit 113 a to be connected tothe power storage element 112 a.

The module 10 b includes a temperature-difference power generation unit111 b that performs power generation by utilizing a temperaturedifference as an example of the power generation unit. In addition, themodule 10 b includes a power storage element 112 b to be connected tothe temperature-difference power generation unit 111 b and an outputunit 113 b to be connected to the power storage element 112 b.

The module 10 c includes a vibration power generation unit 111 c thatperforms power generation in a manner that depends on vibration as anexample of the power generation unit. In addition, the module 10 cincludes a power storage element 112 c to be connected to the vibrationpower generation unit 111 c and an output unit 113 c to be connected tothe power storage element 112 c.

The module 10 d includes a radio-wave power generation unit 111 d thatperforms power generation by utilizing radio waves as an example of thepower generation unit. In addition, the module 10 d includes a powerstorage element 112 d to be connected to the radio-wave power generationunit 111 d and an output unit 113 d to be connected to the power storageelement 112 d.

In this manner, in the sensor device 10, the output unit is providedcorresponding to each power generation unit as an example.

Note that the sensor device 10 including the solar power generation unit111 a, the temperature-difference power generation unit 111 b, thevibration power generation unit 111 c, and the radio-wave powergeneration unit 111 d has been described with reference to FIG. 18, butdevices other than these may be mounted as the sensor. For example, asthe sensors other than the power generation unit that drives the sensordevice 10, one or a plurality of various sensors such as an accelerationsensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a temperature sensor, ahumidity sensor, and a pulse sensor may be mounted on the sensor device10.

Further, these sensors may be driven on the basis of power generated bythe power generation units. The output unit 113 of the sensor device 10may transmit information obtained from these sensors to the relayapparatus 20 or the management apparatus 30. Further, the managementapparatus 30 may receive the information that these sensors of thesensor device 10 have output via the communication unit 31 and use themwhen carrying out the search target specification processing and theindividual position capturing processing described above. Further, themanagement apparatus 30 may use the output information of these sensorsor combine the output information of the sensors with the powergeneration information of the power generation units to carry outprocessing of estimating a state of a livestock animal, which is to bedescribed later.

An example of a specific configuration of the module will be describedtaking the module 10 a as an example.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a specific configuration ofthe module 10 a.

The module 10 a has a configuration including a power generation unit111, a regulator IC 101, a charger 102, a secondary battery 103, acapacitor 104, a capacitor 105, a reset IC 106, an MPU 107, a storageunit 108, and a communication module 109, for example. The storage unit108 has a configuration including a ROM (Read Only Memory) 108 a and aRAM (Random Access Memory) 108 b, for example.

As described above, the power generation unit 111 in the module 10 a isthe solar power generation unit 111 a formed of a solar battery.

The regulator IC 101 is supplied with electric power generated by thepower generation unit 111. The regulator IC 101 increases or decreasesan input voltage so as to keep an output voltage constant. Whether theregulator IC 101 increases or decreases the voltage depends on theconfiguration of the power generation unit 111.

The output voltage of the regulator IC 101 is supplied to the charger102.

The charger 102 is a circuit that charges the secondary battery 103 byutilizing electric power supplied from the regulator IC 101. Note that aconfiguration in which the charger 102 controls discharge of thesecondary battery 103 may be employed. The charger 102 may monitor thepresence/absence of an abnormality of the secondary battery 103. Underthe charge control of the charger 102, the secondary battery 103 ischarged.

The secondary battery 103 is a rechargeable battery. Examples of thesecondary battery 103 can include a lithium-ion secondary battery. As amatter of course, other secondary batteries may also be employed. Thecapacity of the secondary battery 103 may be, for example, approximatelyseveral μWh (microwatt hour) or may be several mWh (milliwatt hour).Therefore, the secondary battery 103 does not increase in size. Anoutput voltage of the secondary battery 103 is supplied to the capacitor104 and the capacitor 105.

Due to the output voltage from the secondary battery 103, electric poweris stored in the capacitor 104. The electric power stored in thecapacitor 104 is used as a power supply of the charger 102. A powersupply for actuating the charger 102 may be additionally provided.

Due to the output voltage from the secondary battery 103, electric poweris stored in the capacitor 105. The capacitor 105 is provided for takingout a weak current, for example. Further, in a case of using thecapacitor 105 and using the reset IC 106 as the output unit, the resetIC 106 and the like can perform operations depending on the voltage ofthe capacitor 105, and the configuration of the circuit can besimplified. Note that a configuration in which the secondary battery 103is connected to the reset IC 106 without the capacitor 105 may beemployed. The secondary battery 103, the capacitor 104, and thecapacitor 105 correspond as an example of the above-mentioned powerstorage element 12.

The reset IC 106 is an example of the above-mentioned integrated circuitof the output unit 113. The reset IC 106 includes, for example, acomparator that compares a voltage of the capacitor 105 with a referencevoltage, for example, and an element such as a transistor that is turnedon/off in a manner that depends on an assessment result. The referencevoltage is, for example, set to be equal to or higher than an operatingvoltage (e.g., 3.3 V or 5 V) of the MPU 107.

The reset IC 106 switches from the off-state to the on-state once thevoltage of the capacitor 105 becomes equal to or higher than thereference voltage. The capacitor 105 and the MPU 107 are connected toeach other correspondingly to switching of the reset IC 106 to theon-state. Then, electric power stored in the capacitor 105 is suppliedas the operating voltage of the MPU 107.

The MPU 107 is connected to the reset IC 106 and the communicationmodule 109. The MPU 107 operates with electric power, which is suppliedcorresponding to switching of the reset IC 106 to the on-state, as apower supply. The MPU 107 controls the communication module 109 and thelike.

The storage unit 108 to be connected to the MPU 107 includes, forexample, the ROM (Read Only Memory) 108 a and the RAM (Random AccessMemory) 108 b. Programs to be executed by the MPU 107 are, for example,stored in the ROM 108 a. Note that an identifier allocated to the module10 a in advance may be stored in the ROM 108 a. The RAM 108 b is used asa work memory or the like when the MPU 107 executes processing. Forexample, if the identifier of the module 10 a is allocated whencommunication connection is established, the allocated identifier may bestored in the RAM 108 b.

Under the control of the MPU 107, the communication module 109 performsprocessing based on a predetermined communication method and is anexample of the above-mentioned communication module of the output unit113. Although the illustration is omitted, the communication module 109includes a small antenna such as a film antenna and a bar antenna or acapacitor sufficiently satisfying antenna's functions. As describedabove, a well-known method can be applied to the communication methodperformed by the communication module 109, and it is not limited to aparticular communication method.

Note that a configuration in which the storage unit 108 is connected tothe communication module 109 may be employed. A configuration in which aplurality of (e.g., two) storage units are connected to each of the MPU107 and the communication module 109 is also possible.

Although the example of the configuration of the module 10 a has beendescribed above, configurations of the other modules may beappropriately changed in a manner that depends on the configuration andthe like of the power generation unit. Further, for example, theconfigurations of the output unit of the module 10 a and the output unitof the module 10 b may differ. If a configuration different from theconfiguration described above is employed, for example, if the output ofthe power generation unit is an alternating current, a rectificationcircuit may be provided on an output side of the power generation unit.

Some configurations in the sensor device 10 may be made common among therespective modules. For example, a configuration in which MPUs of therespective modules can access the storage unit 108 may be employed. Thestorage area of the storage unit 108 may be divided into a plurality ofsections, and storage areas dedicated to the respective modules may beallocated thereto. A configuration in which the respective modules usethe respective storage areas in a time-division manner may be employed.Alternatively, a control method in which the respective modulessequentially use the allocated storage areas may be applied to thesensor device 10.

The sensor device 10 having such a configuration basically operates dueto power generation by the power generation unit 111. Therefore,configurations of a battery, a battery for driving a circuit, and thelike can be made unnecessary.

With this, the sensor device 10 according to this embodiment can savetroubles of replacement, charge, and the like of the battery and reducethe costs of disposal and replacement due to dead of a battery or thelike.

Further, the sensor device 10 can constantly perform monitoring and canbe downsized by making the battery, the battery for driving the circuit,and the like unnecessary. Further, due to its small size, the sensordevice 10 can reduce the risk of detachment and malfunction caused bycollision or the like between livestock animals.

In addition, downsizing of the sensor device 10 can reduce the stress ofthe livestock animal during attachment. Furthermore, accidentalingestions can also be reduced.

[Operation Example of Sensor Device]

FIG. 20 is a flowchart describing an example of a flow of processingwhen the sensor device 10 transmits power generation information and thelike. Here, an example of the flow of processing in the module 10 a willbe described. Although flows of processing of the other modules aresubstantially similar to that of the module 10 a, there may bedifferences depending on the configurations of the modules. Theprocesses of the respective modules are independently performed, forexample.

In Step ST51, the power generation unit 111 (in this example, solarpower generation unit 111 a) performs power generation. For example, alivestock animal wearing the sensor device 10 goes outside in fineweather, the power generation unit 111 is irradiated with solar light,and thus the power generation unit 111 performs power generation. As amatter of course, in case of bad weather or cloudy weather, the powergeneration unit 111 does not perform power generation or generateslittle electric power. Then, the processing proceeds to Step ST52.

In Step ST52, electric power generated by the power generation unit 111is supplied to the capacitor 105 that is one of the power storageelements via the regulator IC 101 or the like. Then, electric power isstored in the capacitor 105, and the voltage of the capacitor 105increases. Then, the processing proceeds to Step ST53.

In Step ST53, it is determined whether or not the voltage of thecapacitor 105 is equal to or higher than the reference voltage. If thevoltage of the capacitor 105 is lower than the reference voltage, theprocessing returns to Step ST53. If the voltage of the capacitor 105 isequal to or higher than the reference voltage, the processing proceedsto Step ST54.

In Step ST54, correspondingly to the fact that the voltage of thecapacitor 105 is equal to or higher than the reference voltage, thereset IC 106 switches from the off-state to the on-state. Note that,correspondingly to the fact that the voltage of the capacitor 105 isequal to or higher than the reference voltage, the state of the reset IC106 switches and the determination processing in Step ST53 is notperformed due to a certain functional block. Correspondingly to the factthat the reset IC 106 switches to the on-state, an output voltage of thecapacitor 105 is supplied to the MPU 107. Then, the processing proceedsto Step ST55.

In Step ST55, the MPU 107 operates with electric power supplied from thecapacitor 105 as the power supply. The MPU 107 reads out a programstored in the ROM 108 a, for example, and executes processing dependingon a code described in the program. Then, the processing proceeds toStep ST56.

In Step ST56, the MPU 107 supplies electric power to the communicationmodule 109 and controls the communication module 109. That is, the MPU107 instructs the communication module 109 to start communication and,for example, instructs the communication module 109 to transmit theidentifier of the module 10 a to the communication apparatus 2. Then,the processing proceeds to Step ST57.

In Step ST57, the communication module 109 performs communication underthe control of the MPU 107. The communication module 109 transmits theidentifier allocated to the module 10 a, for example, to the relayapparatus 20 in accordance with a predetermined communication method.

In this embodiment, an output of the identifier by the sensor device 10is associated with power generation of the power generation amount equalto or larger than the predetermined amount. Therefore, the output of theidentifier can be considered as the output of the power generationinformation. Thus, the management apparatus 30 which has received theidentifier of the module 10 a is, for example, capable of recognizingthat the solar power generation unit 11 a of the module 10 a hasgenerated electric power equivalent to an energy amount for performingsome of or all operations of the system.

That is, the management apparatus 30 is capable of generatinginformation on a power generation amount and frequency of powergeneration of the power generation unit 111 on the basis of the numberof times this identifier is received, and the like.

[Example of State Estimated on Basis of Power Generation Information]

Hereinafter, an example of the state of the livestock animal estimatedfrom the power generation information received by the managementapparatus 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 21.

FIG. 21A to FIG. 21D are diagrams showing outputs from sensor devices 10respectively attached to different livestock animals A1, A2, A3, and A4.In the figure, the bar-like graph schematically show patterns of thenumber of times of reception of the identifiers of the respectivemodules. Further, “light” described in the graph indicates the number oftimes of reception of the identifier of the module including the solarpower generation unit 111 a, “heat” indicates the number of times ofreception of the identifier of the module 10 b including thetemperature-difference power generation unit 111 b, “vibration”indicates the number of times of reception of the identifier of themodule 10 c including the vibration power generation unit 111 c, and“radio waves” indicates the number of times of reception of theidentifier of the module 10 d including the radio-wave power generationunit 111 d.

Note that, as described above, the power generation amount tends toincrease as the number of times of reception of the identifier from eachmodule becomes larger. Thus, in the following description, if the numberof times of reception of the identifier from the module is large, theexpression “the power generation amount of the power generation unitinstalled in that module is large” will be used, and if the number oftimes of reception is small, the expression “the power generation amountis small” will be used.

(Staying Place)

For example, the CPU of the management apparatus 30 is capable ofestimating a staying place of a livestock animal on the basis of thepower generation information of the solar power generation unit 111 a.

Comparing power generation amounts of the solar power generation units111 a in FIGS. 21A and 21B with power generation amounts of the solarpower generation units 111 a in FIGS. 21C and 21D, the power generationamounts of the solar power generation units 111 a in the latter case arelarger. With this, it can be estimated that the livestock animals A3 andA4 have stayed in an outdoor pasture longer than the livestock animalsA1 and A2.

Further, a further detailed staying place of a livestock animal can beestimated by using the power generation amount from the radio-wave powergeneration unit 111 d.

For example, comparing a power generation amount from the radio-wavepower generation unit 111 d in FIG. 21C with a power generation amountfrom the radio-wave power generation unit 111 d in FIG. 21D, it can beestimated that the livestock animal A3 have stayed in a place havingmore radio waves in comparison with the livestock animal A4. Therefore,if distribution of places having strong radio field intensity and placeshaving weak radio field intensity is formed within the pasture, itbecomes possible to also estimate the staying place of the livestockanimal in the pasture on the basis of the power generation amount fromthe radio-wave power generation unit 111 d.

(Activity Amount)

For example, the CPU of the management apparatus 30 is capable ofestimating an activity amount of the livestock animal on the basis ofthe power generation information of the vibration power generation unit111 c.

Comparing power generation amounts of the vibration power generationunits 111 c in FIGS. 21A and 21B with power generation amounts of thevibration power generation units 11 c in FIGS. 21C and 21D, the powergeneration amounts of the vibration power generation units 111 c in thelatter case are larger. With this, it can be estimated that the activityamount of the livestock animals A3 and A4 is larger than that of thelivestock animals A1 and A2.

Further, duration of an outdoor staying time can be estimated by usingthe power generation amount from the solar power generation unit 111 a.Typically, it can be considered that livestock animals, which havestayed longer outdoor, actively behave. Therefore, an activity amount ofa livestock animal can be indirectly estimated also on the basis of thepower generation amount from the solar power generation unit 111 a.

In addition, by analyzing the power generation information of thevibration power generation unit 111 c for a predetermined period, thestates of the livestock animals can also be estimated from variations inthe power generation amount. For example, if the power generation amountof the vibration power generation unit 111 c is high in average, it canbe estimated that it is an individual whose activity amount is large asa whole. On the other hand, if the power generation amount of thevibration power generation unit 111 c largely varies, it can beestimated that it is an individual that has received an impact or havesome troubles.

(Behavior of Livestock Animal)

In addition, the management apparatus 30 is, for example, capable ofanalyzing a pattern of frequency of power generation and estimatingbehavior of a livestock animal on the basis of the power generationinformation of the vibration power generation unit 111 c.

For example, regarding a move of an ear and a move of a limb to whichthe sensor devices 1 are attached, they are different in vibrationfrequency. Therefore, they are also different in power generationpattern. Thus, their behavior can be identified. Further, if acharacteristic power generation pattern can also be found in walking,running, mounting, or the like of livestock animals, their behavior canbe estimated.

(Presence/Absence of Fever)

For example, the management apparatus 30 is capable of estimating thepresence/absence of fever of the livestock animal on the basis of thepower generation information of the temperature-difference powergeneration unit 111 b and the solar power generation unit 111 a.

Comparing a power generation amount of the temperature-difference powergeneration unit 111 b in FIG. 21A with a power generation amount of thetemperature-difference power generation unit 111 b in FIG. 21B, thepower generation amount of the temperature-difference power generationunit 111 b in the former is larger. On the other hand, the powergeneration amounts of these solar power generation units 111 a aresubstantially the same.

With this, it can be estimated that despite the fact that both of thelivestock animals A1 and A2 have stayed indoor for substantially thesame time, the livestock animal A1 has a higher body temperature thanthe livestock animal A2.

Further, by comparing the power generation amounts of the solar powergeneration units 111 a and the temperature-difference power generationunits 111 b in FIG. 21B with the power generation amounts of the solarpower generation units 111 a and the temperature-difference powergeneration units 111 b in FIG. 21C, both the power generation amounts ofFIG. 21C are larger.

With this, it can be estimated that, regarding the livestock animal A3,the power generation amount of the temperature-difference powergeneration unit 111 b has increased due to its long stay in alower-temperature place (e.g., outdoor such as grazing land) incomparison with the livestock animal A2. Therefore, it can be estimatedthat, regarding the livestock animal A3, the power generation amount ofthe temperature-difference power generation unit 111 b is large but itis unlikely that it has a fever.

In addition, examples of a cause of fever of a livestock animal caninclude disease, stress, estrus, and the like. Therefore, such a factorthat can be a cause of fever can also be estimated by estimating thepresence/absence of fever.

(Estrus)

The management apparatus 30 is, for example, capable of estimatingwhether or not a livestock animal is in estrus on the basis of the powergeneration information.

During estrus, the activity amount and body temperature of the livestockanimal generally increase. With this, the management apparatus 30 iscapable of estimating whether or not a livestock animal is in estrus onthe basis of the power generation information from the vibration powergeneration unit 111 c, the temperature-difference power generation unit111 b, and the like as described above.

(Meat Quality)

For example, the management apparatus 30 is capable of estimating meatquality on the basis of the power generation information.

It is considered that the meat quality of livestock animals generallydepends on feed, exercise load, stress, and the like. As describedabove, the exercise load (activity amount) and stress can be estimatedon the basis of the power generation information. Further, regarding thefeed, as long as staying places of individual livestock animals can begrasped on the basis of the power generation information from theradio-wave power generation unit 11 d and the solar power generationunit 11 a, the kinds of grasses and the like eaten by these livestockanimals can also be specified.

Thus, it becomes possible for the management apparatus 30 to estimatethe meat quality of individual livestock animals that can usually bechecked after they are processed as meat.

In this way, the management apparatus 30 can estimate various conditionsof the livestock animal on the basis of the power generationinformation. Therefore, since the health condition and activity state ofthe livestock animal are indirectly detected from these electric powergeneration states, by providing a reference value for the individualpower generation amounts or providing a reference value for acombination of a plurality of arbitrary power generation amounts, itbecomes possible to set one or a plurality of conditions for extractinga specific livestock animal.

According to this embodiment, in cases where there are a fairly largenumber of pastured livestock animals, a pasture area is extremelyextensive, and the like, it is possible to not only specify anindividual on which individual care needs to be performed, such as anindividual that has become ill or is in estrus, but also readily capturea position or movement destination of that individual.

Second Embodiment

Subsequently, a second embodiment of the present technology will bedescribed.

Hereinafter, configurations different from those of the first embodimentwill mainly be described, configurations similar to those of theembodiment above will be denoted by similar symbols, and descriptionsthereof will be omitted or simplified.

The first embodiment above is configured such that pieces of biologicalinformation transmitted from the respective livestock animals A arereceived by the plurality of relay apparatuses 20, individualinformation obtained by adding communication state information to thesepieces of biological information is transmitted from the respectiverelay apparatuses 20 to the management apparatus 30, and the managementserver 301 performs extraction and position capturing of a specificlivestock animal A.

In this embodiment, the sensor device worn by each livestock animal isconfigured to be capable of not only transmitting biological informationof the livestock animal but also receiving transmission information fromsensor devices worn by the plurality of other livestock animals in theperiphery and transmitting these to the management apparatus 30 or themobile object 40. In other words, this embodiment differs from the firstembodiment in that the individual sensor devices also include a functionas a relay apparatus.

FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of asensor device 10A according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, thesensor device 10A includes the communication unit 11, the detection unit12, a communication state measurement unit 15, and a storage unit 16.

The communication unit 11 and the detection unit 12 are similar to thoseof the first embodiment, so descriptions thereof will be omitted. Inthis embodiment, the communication unit 11 is further configured to becapable of receiving, from a plurality of other livestock animals A(sensor devices 10A) in the periphery, biological information (firstinformation) of those livestock animals. The communication statemeasurement unit 15 is configured by a calculation apparatus such as acomputer including a CPU, a memory, and the like. The storage unit 16 istypically configured by a semiconductor memory or the like.

The communication state measurement unit 15 generates informationrelated to the communication states among the sensor devices 10A(communication units 11) (second information). The communication statemeasurement unit 15 detects or measures a transmission signal level of acounterpart (signal transmission side), a reception intensity of itself,and the like as the communication states among the sensor devices 10A.The communication unit 11 is further configured to be capable oftransmitting individual information of each livestock animal A includingthe biological information (first information) transmitted from each ofthe sensor devices 10 and the communication state information (secondinformation) related to the communication state, that has been generatedby the communication state measurement unit 15, to the managementapparatus 30 or the mobile object 40.

The storage unit 16 is configured to store the biological information ofother livestock animals received by the communication unit 11, thebiological information of itself (relevant livestock animal) detected bythe detection unit 12, the communication state information generated bythe communication state measurement unit 15, and the like.

The individual information to be transmitted from each of the sensordevices 10A to the management apparatus 30 or the mobile object 40 isconfigured as a dataset including the biological information (firstinformation), the communication state information (second information),identification information (UID) of the sensor device 10A, and the like.The communication state information (second information) includestransmission signal levels from other sensor devices 10A, a receptionsignal intensity, reception time, and reception hour of informationtransmitted from the other sensor devices 10A, and the like.

The communication form between the respective sensor devices 10A and themanagement apparatus 30 or the mobile object 40 is not limited inparticular, and the various communication methods described above areapplicable. The transmission timings and transmission intervals of theindividual information from the respective sensor devices 10A to themanagement apparatus 30 are also not limited in particular and only needto be set at appropriate timings and intervals. For example, the mobileobject 40 may periodically receive data from each individual andtransmit it to the management apparatus 30.

The mobile object 40 may be configured to search for a specificlivestock animal while receiving data from individual livestock animals.In this case, position information acquired by the mobile object 40 maybe transmitted to the management apparatus (management server 301), anda calculation result of the position capturing unit 33 (FIG. 2) may bereceived by the mobile object 40. In this case, the mobile object 40also includes a function as a relay apparatus. Alternatively, it is alsopossible for the mobile object 40 to include a configuration similar tothat of the position capturing unit 33 so that the mobile object 40 canautonomously search for a specific livestock animal.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram for explaining the individual searchsystem at a time the mobile object 40 is used as the relay apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 23, a case where a plurality of individuals A1 to A10(livestock animals) are divided and gathered into two groups GP1 and GP2will be discussed. In this case, the 5 individuals A1 to A5 belonging tothe group GP1 exchange individual information with one another so thateach of them shares other pieces of individual information. Similarly,each of the other 5 individuals A6 to A10 belonging to the group GP2shares other pieces of individual information.

In such a state, the mobile object 40 is capable of acquiring, bycommunicating with one arbitrary individual belonging to either group,position information of other individuals within the same group.Therefore, it becomes possible to search for a position of a specificindividual on the basis of the position information received from theplurality of individuals. Moreover, also in a case where the position ofthe specific livestock animal A changes with time (i.e., case where thatspecific livestock animal moves), it becomes possible to search for amovement destination or movement trajectory of that specific livestockanimal. Hereinafter, that search procedure will be described.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the search procedure of a specificlivestock animal in the management apparatus 30 (management server 301)of this embodiment. It should be noted that the processing may also beexecuted in the mobile object 40.

In a ready state, the management server 301 judges whether there isreception data (individual information) from the sensor devices 10A wornby the respective livestock animals or the mobile object 40 as the relayapparatus (ST61, 62). Whether there is reception data is judged on thebasis of reception information stored in the storage unit 34 (FIG. 2),for example.

Upon receiving the individual information of each livestock animal, themanagement server 301 (position capturing unit 33) specifies, out of theplurality of sensor devices 10A that have received data on a positioncapturing target (specific livestock animal A as search target) at thesame time or hour, the sensor device 10A closest to the specificlivestock animal A (ST63). Here, of the plurality of sensor devices 10A,a sensor device 10A that has a lowest transmission signal levelregarding the search target and has been capable of receiving thatsignal is extracted. As long as the signal can be received whilemaintaining the reception intensity even if the transmission signallevel is low as described above, a distance between that sensor device10A and the position capturing target is short, so the sensor device 10Aclosest to the specific livestock animal A is specified by theprocessing above.

Subsequently, on the basis of the reception data from the sensor device10A closest to the specific livestock animal A, the management server301 (position capturing unit 33) estimates the position of the specificlivestock animal at a reception time of that data and generates positioninformation related to that position (ST64). The generated positioninformation is stored in the storage unit 34.

Next, the management server 301 (position capturing unit 33) referencesthe position information related to the specific livestock animal, thathas been generated last time, and additionally generates trajectoryinformation related to a positional change of that livestock animal A(ST65). The generated trajectory information is stored in the storageunit 34.

The processing above is repetitively executed until a search process endevent is generated (ST66, 67).

Specific examples of the processing above are shown in FIGS. 25 to 30.In each of the figures, a specific livestock animal A0 as a searchtarget is indicated by a black inverted triangle.

At a reception time (T) t1, a livestock animal that has a lowesttransmission signal level (highest reception intensity) out of livestockanimals A11 to A17 that receive individual information transmitted fromthe livestock animal A0 is the livestock animal A11 closest to thelivestock animal A0 as shown in FIG. 25. After that, at times t2, t3,t4, and t5, the livestock animal closest to the livestock animal A0sequentially changes in the order of the livestock animal A12, A13, A13,and A16 as shown in FIGS. 26 to 29. This is shown in FIG. 30 in timeseries. The management apparatus 30 (management server 301) referencesthe time-series data and generates movement trajectory information ofthe livestock animal A0 as indicated by the arrow in broken lines inFIG. 31.

For example, the management server 301 transmits the time-series data orthe trajectory information to the terminal apparatuses 302 and 303 sothat the trajectory as shown in FIG. 31 is displayed on the display ofthe terminal apparatuses 302 and 303 on the basis of the time-seriesdata or the trajectory information. The trajectory is displayed whilebeing updated successively, and the movement of the mobile object 40 isprovided in a visually easy-to-see manner.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since a time change ofa position of a specific individual as a search target can be acquired,a behavioral state can be monitored. Moreover, since one or a pluralityof individuals other than the search target can be monitored at the sametime, the present technology can also be used in various biologicalsurveys on group behavior characteristics of these individuals, and thelike. Further, by grasping these individual behaviors before generationof a search event, individuals can be readily captured at the time asearch event is generated.

Heretofore, the embodiments of the present technology have beendescribed, but the present technology is not limited to the embodimentsabove and can of course be variously modified.

For example, it is of course possible to combine the first embodimentand the second embodiment. In this case, for example, the trajectorydisplay of a specific individual, that has been described in the secondembodiment, can also be applied to the first embodiment.

Further, although the livestock management system related to managementor search of livestock animals has been taken as an example in theembodiments above, the present technology is not limited thereto. Forexample, the present technology is also applicable to productionmanagement, logistics management, and the like of industrial productsand agricultural products. Furthermore, the present technology is alsoapplicable to safety confirmation and search of those who become lost,search of lost children and pets, and the like.

It should be noted that the present technology can also take thefollowing configurations.

(1) A management apparatus, including

a control unit that extracts, on the basis of first information that isgenerated by a sensor device worn by an individual and is related to aliving body of the individual, a specific individual satisfying apredetermined condition, and generates, on the basis of positioninformation related to a position of the specific individual, searchinformation for causing a mobile object to move to the position of thespecific individual.

(2) The management apparatus according to (1), in which

the control unit generates the position information on the basis ofsecond information related to a communication state between the sensordevice worn by the specific individual and a relay apparatus thatreceives the first information transmitted from the sensor device.

(3) The management apparatus according to (2), in which

-   -   the control unit includes    -   an individual extraction unit configured to extract the specific        individual on the basis of the first information, and    -   a position capturing unit configured to generate the position        information of the specific individual on the basis of the        second information.        (4) An individual management system, including:

a plurality of sensor devices each including a detection unit thatdetects first information related to a living body of an individual anda first communication unit capable of transmitting the firstinformation, the plurality of sensor devices being respectively worn bya plurality of individuals to be managed; and

a management apparatus including a control unit that extracts, on thebasis of the first information, a specific individual satisfying apredetermined condition, and generates, on the basis of positioninformation related to a position of the specific individual, searchinformation for causing a mobile object to move to the position of thespecific individual.

(5) The individual management system according to (4), further including

at least one relay apparatus including a second communication unitcapable of receiving the first information transmitted from each of theplurality of sensor devices and transmitting individual information ofeach individual including second information related to a communicationstate with respect to the plurality of sensor devices and the firstinformation,

in which the control unit generates the position information related tothe position of the specific individual on the basis of the secondinformation.

(6) The individual management system according to (5), in which

the relay apparatus includes a plurality of relay apparatuses, and

the control unit is configured to extract a relay apparatus closest tothe specific individual out of the plurality of relay apparatuses on thebasis of the second information, and generate the position informationof the specific individual on the basis of the individual informationtransmitted from the relay apparatus closest to the specific individual.

(7) The individual management system according to any one of (4) to (6),further including

an information processing apparatus including a display unit thatdisplays the position of the specific individual on the basis of theposition information generated by the management apparatus.

(8) The individual management system according to any one of (4) to (7),in which

the detection unit includes at least one power generation elementcapable of generating electric power in accordance with a peripheralenvironment, and

the first communication unit is configured to transmit informationrelated to a power generation amount of the power generation elementusing electric power supplied from the power generation element.

(9) The individual management system according to any one of (4) to (8),in which

the relay apparatus is at least one sensor device selected from theplurality of sensor devices.

(10) An individual search system, including:

a plurality of sensor devices each including a detection unit thatdetects first information related to a living body of an individual anda first communication unit capable of transmitting the firstinformation, the plurality of sensor devices being respectively worn bya plurality of individuals to be managed;

at least one relay apparatus including a second communication unitcapable of receiving the first information transmitted from each of theplurality of sensor devices and transmitting individual information ofeach individual including second information related to a communicationstate with the first communication unit and the first information;

a mobile object; and

a management apparatus including a control unit that receives theindividual information of each individual transmitted from the relayapparatus, extracts a specific individual satisfying a predeterminedcondition on the basis of the first information, generates positioninformation related to a position of the specific individual on thebasis of the second information, and generates search information formoving the mobile object to the position of the specific individual onthe basis of the position information.

(11) The individual search system according to (10), in which

the mobile object is an unmanned flying object configured to be capableof flying autonomously.

(12) The individual management system according to (10), in which

the mobile object is an unmanned traveling object configured to becapable of traveling autonomously.

(13) The individual search system according to any one of (10) to (12),in which

the management apparatus further includes a third communication unitcapable of transmitting the search information to the mobile object andreceiving mobile object information including information related to aposition of the mobile object, and

the individual search system further includes

an information processing apparatus including a display unit thatdisplays the mobile object information.

(14) The individual search system according to (13), in which

the mobile object includes an image pickup apparatus and a fourthcommunication unit capable of transmitting an output image of the imagepickup apparatus to the management apparatus as the mobile objectinformation.

(15) The individual search system according to any one of (10) to (14),in which

the relay apparatus includes a plurality of relay apparatuses, and

the mobile object is configured as a part of the plurality of relayapparatuses.

(16) The individual search system according to any one of (10) to (15),in which

the mobile object includes a display apparatus that externally displaysthe position of the specific individual.

(17) The individual search system according to any one of (10) to (16),in which

the control unit further generates a guidance instruction for guidingthe specific individual to a predetermined location, and

the mobile object includes a guidance tool that is used to guide thespecific individual to the predetermined location on the basis of theguidance instruction.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 system-   10, 10A sensor device-   20 relay apparatus-   22 communication state measurement unit-   30 management apparatus-   32 individual extraction unit-   33 position capturing unit-   35 control unit-   40, 40A, 40B mobile object-   301 management server-   302, 303 terminal apparatus-   A livestock animal

The invention claimed is:
 1. A management method comprising: receivingfirst information related to a state of a worn sensor transmitted fromthe worn sensor, extracting, on the basis of the first informationrelated to the state of the worn sensor, a specific position of the wornsensor satisfying a predetermined condition, and transmitting, searchinformation to a mobile object having a motor for moving the mobileobject, the search information for causing the mobile object to move tothe position of the specific position of the worn sensor.
 2. Themanagement method according to claim 1, further comprising providing aUser Interface (UI) to instruct a search of the worn sensor by themobile object and receiving a search start instruction based on the userinterface.
 3. The management method according to claim 2, furthercomprising displaying, via the UI, on the basis of the positioninformation of the worn sensor, the specific position of the worn sensoron a map image.
 4. The management method according to claim 1, whereinthe first information includes the position information of a specificliving individual.
 5. The management method according to claim 1,wherein the first information includes state information indicative ofthe state of the specific living individual.
 6. The management methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the mobileobject, position information of the mobile object indicative of aposition where the mobile object found the worn sensor on the basis ofthe first information after the transmission of the first information.7. The management method according to claim 6, further comprisingreceiving, from the mobile object, image data of a specific livingindividual which the mobile object found on the basis of the searchinformation after the transmission of the first information.
 8. Themanagement method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile object is atraveling object configured to be capable of traveling autonomouslyusing a wheel.
 9. The management method to claim 1, wherein the mobileobject is an unmanned flying object configured to be capable of flyingautonomously by using a propeller.
 10. A mobile object, comprising: amotor for moving the mobile object, the mobile object receives searchinformation for causing the mobile object to move to a position of aworn sensor, wherein the position of the worn sensor is extracted on thebasis of first information related to a state of the worn sensor,detected and transmitted from the worn sensor and satisfying apredetermined condition after receiving a search start instruction basedon a User Interface (UI) provided by a management apparatus.
 11. Themobile object according to claim 10, wherein the UI is configured todisplay, on the basis of the position information of the specific wornsensor, the position of the worn sensor on a map image.
 12. The mobileobject according to claim 10, wherein the first information includes theposition information of a specific living individual.
 13. The mobileobject according to claim 10, wherein the first information includesstate information indicative of the state of the specific livingindividual.
 14. The mobile object according to claim 10, wherein themanagement apparatus is further configured to receive, from the mobileobject, position information of the mobile object indicative of aposition where the mobile object found the worn sensor on the basis ofthe first information after the transmission of the first information.15. The mobile object according to claim 14, wherein the managementapparatus is further configured to receive, from the mobile object,image data of a specific living individual which the mobile object foundon the basis of the search information after the transmission of thefirst information.
 16. The mobile object according to claim 10, whereinthe mobile object is a traveling object configured to be capable oftraveling autonomously using a wheel.
 17. The mobile object to claim 10,wherein the mobile object is an unmanned flying object configured to becapable of flying autonomously by using a propeller.
 18. A managementapparatus, comprising: apparatus that receives first information relatedto a state of a worn sensor, provides a User Interface (UI) to instructa search for the worn sensor by a mobile object, receives a search startinstruction based on the user interface, extracts, on the basis of thefirst information related to the state of the sensor, a position of theworn sensor satisfying a predetermined condition, and transmits searchinformation to a mobile object having a motor for moving the mobileobject, the search information for causing the mobile object to move tothe position of the worn sensor.
 19. The management apparatus accordingto claim 18, wherein the UI is configured to display, on the basis ofthe position information of the worn sensor, the position of the wornsensor on a map image.
 20. The management apparatus according to claim18, wherein the first information includes the position information of aspecific living individual.
 21. The management apparatus according toclaim 18, wherein the first information includes state informationindicative of the state of the specific living individual.
 22. Themanagement apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the managementapparatus is further configured to receive, from the mobile object,position information of the mobile object indicative of a position wherethe mobile object found the worn sensor on the basis of the firstinformation after the transmission of the first information.
 23. Themanagement apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the managementapparatus is further configured to receive, from the mobile object,image data of a specific living individual which the mobile object foundon the basis of the search information after the transmission of thefirst information.
 24. The management apparatus according to claim 18,wherein the mobile object is a traveling object configured to be capableof traveling autonomously using a wheel.
 25. The management apparatusaccording to claim 18, wherein the mobile object is an unmanned flyingobject configured to be capable of flying autonomously by using apropeller.